Fastener for medical tubes and the like



I March. 4, 1969 M. DOAN- I 3,430,300

FASTENER FOR MEDICAL TUBES AND THE LIKE I Filed April 20; 19s? I T1155? Iva/67%?!" Nildred flaczn United States Patent Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Disclosed herein are two forms of fasteners, each being a flexible strip of material, such as cloth. Adhesive means on one end of the strip releasably fastens the strip to a human body or other object. The other end of the strip is formed to be folded around a tube and secured in place.

This invention relates to fasteners and more particularly to fastener devices for temporarily fastening tubes and the like to other objects.

Fasteners embodying the present invention will be particularly useful to doctors, nurses and other medical personnel. These fastener devices provide a convenient means for temporarily fastening tubes and the like in place during treatment of a patient. These fasteners can be used, for example, to fasten feeding tubes to their support and for fastening irrigation and drainage tubes to bed parts or to the patient himself. These devices can also be used to fasten other things, such as electrical cords, call light cords, bed control cords and the like, at a location convenient to a patient, thus obviating the use of safety pins and other such sharp metallic devices that can cause damage to bed clothes and patients. They can also be attached to cords, tubes and the like to serve as flags or means for identification. Thus, it is apparent that these devices may be used in many different ways.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a simple inexpensive fastening device for hospital use that facilitates the fastening of therapeutic tubes and the like in place.

Another object is to provide a tube fastening device that is easily applied to hold tubes and the like in place and is easily detached when no longer needed.

Still another object is to provide a fastening device that will hold a pliable tube in place without any tendency to collapse the tube and which does not adhesively stick to the tube.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a preferred form of the device as it appears preliminary to attachment to a tube;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1 at a later stage of being attached to the tube;

FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the device of FIG. 1 completely attached to the tube;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a second form of the device preliminary to attachment to a tube;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the device of FIG. 4 at a later stage of attachment;

FIG. 6 is a view of the device as seen in FIG. 5 viewed from the left; and

FIG. 7 is a view like FIG. 6 when the device is completely attached to the tube.

Broadly speaking, the device of this invention comprises an elongated strip of pliable material having a layer of adhesive material on one end. The strip also has an elongated intermediate portion that is free of adhesive and adapted to be folded around a tube or the like. On its opposite end the strip has means for fastening the opposite end to the intermediate portion of the strip.

The structure of a preferred form of the device as it appears prior to its being attached to a tube or the like is shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 2 and 3 also show this same form of the device in different stages of attachment.

The device of FIGS. 1-3 comprises an elongated strip, indicated generally at 16 in FIG. 1, of pliable material such as cloth. An end portion 17 of the strip 16 is provided with means for securing the device in place, in this instance a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 18. The end portion 17 is elongated and for convenience of handling prior to use, the end portion is folded on itself with the adhesive located inwardly as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and lightly adhered to be easily unfolded. In this instance, a small secondary fold 19 may be made at the extreme end of the strip to provide a pull to facilitate unfolding of the end portion prior to attachment to a patient.

Above the portion 17 is an elongated portion 21 that is adapted to be folded over or wrapped around an article such as the tube 12 (see FIG. 2), forming a loop 22 (see FIG. 3). The portion 21 has no adhesive on its exposed surfaces. Thus the tubing 12 can, if desired, slide axially through the loop 22, and the tubing will not tend to become sticky or otherwise harmed by contact with the adhesive.

The upper end of the device 16, as seen in FIG. 1, is provided with means for holding the loop 22 fast around the article such as the tube 12. In this instance, the holding means comprises a transversely extending end portion 23 located on the upper end of the device 11 as seen in FIG. 2. The end portion 23 is wider than the portion 21, thus providing wings 25 and 25a that extend laterally of the strip beyond the margins of the portion 21, giving the device the shape of a T. The surface of the portion 23 is also provided with a layer of adhesive material 24. For convenience in handling prior to use, protective covers 26 and 26a are provided. The covers 26 and 26a are such that they are easily peeled off the portion 23 to expose the adhesive layer 24.

To use the device 6, it is first attached to the tube preferably in the manner shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The portion 21, which has no adhesive on its exposed surfaces, is positioned on the tube as shown in FIG. 1. The covers 26 and 26a are peeled away to expose the adhesive layer 24. The portions 21 and 23 are then folded over or around the tube 12 as shown in FIG. 2 until the center of the adhesive layer 24 can be pressed against the facing part of the strip to form the loop 22. The wings 25 and 25a are then folded around the facing part alternately from their opposite sides and overlapped, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and pressed into adhesive engagement, thereby holding the loop 22 fast. The portion '17 is then unfolded to expose the adhesive layer 19 which, in turn, is pressed into place against the body or other object to which the tube is to be fastened. When the tube is to be removed, it is a simple matter to pull the device free.

FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 show a second form of fastening device. This form of the device may be made of a single strip of pliable material, such as adhesive tape material,

yet it does not rely upon adhesive to hold the loop fast around a tube. In this form of the device a mechanical arrangement is used instead of adhesive.

The device of FIG. 4 has an intermediate portion 33 that is adapted to be folded or Wrapped around a tube, such as 34 to form a loop 36 (see FIG. 5). In this instance, the portion 33 and the upper end of the strip are both formed by folding the upper end portion back upon itself, as shown in FIG. 5, to cover an adhesive layer therebetween and to stiffen the upper end portion. Thus, the entire upper end of the instant device has no adhesive material on its exposed surfaces.

The instant device includes means for holding the loop 36 fast around an article, such as the tube 34. In this instance, the means comprises a tang on the end of the strip which cooperates with a longitudinal slit 37 formed in the intermediate portion 33. The tang comprises, in this instance, a pair of wing members 38 and 38a formed on the upper end of the device. To form the wing members 38 and 38a, the opposite edges of the strip are slit laterally, as at 35 and folded as shown in FIG. 4. To lock the loop fast around the tube 34, the wing members 38 and 38a are folded together and inserted through the slit 37, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 until the wing members 38 and 38a can be spread as shown in FIG. 7. With the wing members spread, the loop is held fast, but is easily releasable.

The lower end of the device is the same as the FIG. 1 form described above.

I claim:

1. A fastener device for a medicinal tube comprising, a unitary flat strip of flexible material having a generally elongated rectangular main body section adapted to form a loop about said tube intermediate the ends of said body section with an integral laterally extending foldable section at one end of said main body section adapted to engage said main body section when forming said loop about said tube, said strip of flexible material having pressure sensitive adhesive material on one side thereof covering a substantial proportion of said main body section, and said main body section having said adhesive material thereon protectively covered by means adapted to expose said adhesive material when attachment of said device to a surface is desired.

2. A fastener device for a medicinal tube as in claim 1, wherein said device comprises a unitary flat strip of flexible material having a generally elongated rectangular main body section adapted to form a loop about said tube intermediate the ends of said body section with an integral laterally extending foldable section at one end of said main body section adapted to engage said main body section intermediate the ends of said main body section when forming said loop, said strip of flexible material having pressure sensitive adhesive material on one side thereof covering said lateral section and a substantial proportion of said main body section, said foldable section having a protective sheet covering said adhesive material thereon which is removable to exposing said adhesive material for engaging said main body section when forming said loop, and said main body section having said adhesive material thereon protectively covered by means adapted to exposed said adhesive material when attachment of said device to a surface is desired.

3. A fastener device as in claim 2, wherein a portion ofsaid main body section adjacent said foldable section is free of adhesive material; whereby said tube disposed within said loop formed therein is free of contact with said adhesive material.

4. A fastener device as in claim '2, wherein said main body section has the end section thereof spaced from said foldable section folded upon said main body section to initially cover all said adhesive material thereon and adapted to expose said adhesive material when pulled away from said folded position.

'5. A fastener device for retaining a medical tube in a desired position relative to a surface as in claim 1, wherein said device comprises a flexible strip of material having a generally elongated rectangular main body section with pressure sensitive adhesive material on one side thereof along a substantial proportion of the length thereof, the free end of said strip being folded back upon said main body section so as to initially cover all of said adhesive material, one end of said strip spaced from said free end having tangs bent up therefrom for releasably engaging an aperture formed in the mid portion of said main body section when said one end is bent around said tube, and said strip presenting an adhesive surface for attachment to said surface when said free end of the strip is peeled away from its folded condition to expose said adhesive material thereon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 698,068 4/1902 Snell 24-265 1,435,519 11/ 1922 Gautier. 1,740,262 12/ 1929 Paulus. 2,005,569 6/ 1935 Smith 2473.21 2,292,272 8/ 1942 Hirshfield. 2,293,883 8/1942 Bossert. 2,669,23 1 2/ 1954 Fisher 128349 X 2,902,734 9/1959 Walters 24-67.1 X 3,074,677 1/ 1963 Eckhardt 248-205 X 3,146,778 9/ 1964 Krawiec 248205 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,043,489 6/ 3 France.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

